First Steps into the Unknown (Things Left Hidden)

The inventor had once again kept to himself during the groups trek up the mountain towards the temple that was meant to be their destination, he'd neglected paying attention to the woman he'd invited to accompany his as well as the Clockwork Champion Orianna, there was much planning to be done. His growing instinct for brewing danger since his trek through the tomb of Shurima led him to believe that this was much too safe, too clear, the path before them laid clearly with no foreseeable obstacles.

In the middle of his nearly mad inner ramblings he'd remembered he appointed himself as the caretaker of Orianna's repairs and such on the expedition, walking over to the Clockwork automaton he gave a quick bow. "Miss Orianna, I believe we're about to make meaningful progress on our expedition. How are you holding up?" He asked politely

The temple felt like home to Leona. The surroundings, the energy, it all was much alike to the peak of Mount Targon. The sun's energy was rich there, and she did not even have to try to tap into it to feel invigorated by it. The energy's effect on her was visible to all the others, while she did always glow slightly in sunlight, the effect was more pronounced now, and her eyes were more brilliantly golden.

Leona soon found herself at the front of the group. She had more vigor in her stride, and was eager to move into the temple and discover what her ancestors had left for her, all the while admiring what she could already see. The style that the builders used differed slightly from her home owing to the age of the temple, it was commonly used in that age. She found herself getting further and further ahead of the group, all the while stopping to examine the statues and inscriptions that were still legible after over a thousand years.

James gave a low whistle as the temple came into view, admiring the extensive architecture. "My. There's certainly nothing akin to this in Demacia." He immediately took out his sketchbook and began drawing the temple, including the party in front of him in the picture for scale. "Leona, have you been here before?" He asked to her from nearby, hoping it wasn't a stupid question.

Xerath, too, was intrigued by the abandoned temple, but not for its architecture and art. Xerath found Himself watching Leona's body react to the arcane energy of this place. He could feel the difference in the energy here, and as they approached the temple, the energy within His form slowly shifted from brilliant blue to a bright turquoise.

But Xerath felt something more focused as well. A constant channeling force that both drew power and emminated it. It felt akin to a powerful enchantment.

"There's a very strong spell being cast from within the temple. I'm unsure if there's a mage within casting it, but by the looks of this place, it's probably an lingering enchantment."

Xerath's voice held no emotion, but the thought of an enchantment like this going on for hundreds of years angered Him. An on-going enchantment like this means the caster had not added the simplest of termination clauses: death of the enchanter. He had been taught at a young age to always put limitations on enchantments. 'You cannot forsee how even the most harmless enchantments may affect the future', He mentally recalled from a lecture.

His curiosity beckoned Him closer, and soon He found Himself walking alongside Leona. His attention did not leave this unseen force as He approached.

"There is no way to tell from here. The aura is still to faint, and being distorted by other sources. "

The light attunement of the arcane distorted Xerath's senses, but it was further blurred by the arcane energies of the group.

"We will have to get closer to investigate." If Xerath had to guess, He would have said the magic is runic in nature, but He did not like to be wrong, so He waited. Besides, if it was, Xerath would be obligated to escort it back to the Ministry- A task He genuinely hoped to avoid.

Carell was euphoric. It was here. It was truly here. He could hardly keep himself from running directly into the temple and taking note of everything he could find. He pulled out a book and some writing implements, and began furiously jotting down everything he saw. He practically ran from statue to statue, recording the inscriptions, before he abruptly stopped himself. He was so enthusiastic about taking note of everything that he had not considered that Leona might not approve. He continued similarly has he had before, only now recording more general notes and observations while quickly getting closer to the actual entrance to the temple.

It was too late for second thoughts at this point in the journey. The party already stood upon the temple steps. It was not much longer before they entered inside.

As impressive as the temple was from the outside, the inside was even more so. The ceiling was high, easily three times Tekun's own impressive height. Giant marble columns supported the perfectly clean cut stone of the mountainside that loomed above them. Even though it had been thousands of years since anyone had occupied the interior, fire, obviously magical in nature, still burned from several torches and braziers, where light filtering through the gaps in the columns on one side was not enough.

The first area they entered was a long hallway. The edge of the path on both sides was lined with marble statues raised upon large pedestals, the details of the sculptures more finely preserved than the ones outside. At the edge of the hallway, there were two statues adopting different positions. They had their spears crossed to block the path ahead of them, and both had their palms extended outwards, gesturing to stop. Leona did not seem fazed by it, so perhaps it was normal.

Xerath would notice far more abnormalities upon entry. The summoner's spell placed upon him behaved very differently the moment he passed into the temple. The magic powering the ward could still enter the temple, but none of it could exit. No arcane energy in the temple could exit it. What was more is that there was an enchantment woven into the very construction of the building, one that fed off of magic and was strengthened when it did so. It returned to its normal strength after a while, but it was clear what the enchantment did. Spells cast within the temple had their energy drained, and the more spells were cast, the more powerful the effect. After some time, the enchantment would resume regular strength.

What could not be explained were the whispers. Everyone heard them, but only for a few seconds, so faint that they would be difficult to notice at first. There were many voices, all whispering at once. The words were indiscernible, save for only two words on occasion. Soul. Power.

As abruptly as the whispers had come, they were gone.